Product Review/Clothing
Columbia Bugatech Lite Omni-Heat
Winter boots to keeping your feet warm and dry when temps dive below freezing
It’s 15 degrees and snowing hard outside the window of my pickup as I write this review. I’ve just spent the better part of the day shooting photos at the Bridgestone Winter Driving School a couple miles outside Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
When I arrived early this morning the temperature was single-digit with a slight breeze. I was worried about keeping my feet warm and dry being in knee-deep in drifts and walking on hardpack snow as I went about my work.
I’ve discovered those worries were for naught thanks to the high-tech Columbia boots on my feet.
Waterproof, warm, light in weight and comfortable, all the makings of a great winter work/outdoor boot.
I’ve worn a lot of different cold-weather clothing and insulated, waterproof hunting boots over the years. But no boots have worked as well or felt as comfortable as what I’m wearing now.
Columbia’s Bugatech™ Lite Omni-Heat® winter boots ($140) kept my feet both warm and dry despite the their ultra-light weight.
That’s because this popular cold-weather boot (it came out in 1993) now incorporates Columbia’s exclusive Omni-Heat membrane and an ultra-light shell.
Warmth comes from a space-blanket-like material woven into the boot to keep body heat where it belongs – around your foot. They kept my feet toasty without the need to wear bulky socks, too.
This boot feels like a feather and its soles utilize a soft rubber compound with a tread pattern that sheds snow and maximizes traction — important functions especially on hard-pack and icy surfaces.
They are also very comfortable to wear.
The padding around the shin is thick with a large pull loop to make it easy to slide the high-tops on. They have speed laces and the tongue lays flat conforming nicely to your foot the first time they are laced up. The Bugaboots also look good. 
Columbia’s Bugatech Lites have proven their worth on this trip, and they will now take a coveted spot next to my favorite dry-weather hunting boots. – Bruce W. Smith / Editor, ProPickup
